Phillies hold celebration after clinching playoff spot

HOUSTON - Four years ago this morning, the Phillies were 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with 15 to play. Three years ago today, they were tied with the Brewers atop the wild-card standings with 12 games to play. When you consider that history, what they accomplished yesterday at Minute Maid Park was nothing short of remarkable: not the fact that they clinched a fifth consecutive postseason berth with a 1-0 win over the Astros, but the fact that they did so with little more than a nod of acknowledgment.

After playing most of the last month with the understanding that the reaching of the postseason was near inevitable, you did not expect to find giddy players dousing each other with Dom Perignon and streaking naked through the hallways. But you also did not expect to find the scene that greeted you inside the visitors' clubhouse, which was, essentially, no scene at all. As players slipped into their traveling clothes and then out through the doorway, the only sign of life was the mellow sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers humming through a speaker in the far left corner of the room.

"I think that what it is, is it's become a mind-set for us," said Ryan Howard, one of eight current Phillies who were there at this time in 2007 when the playoffs seemed a near-impossibility. "We've been to the top of the mountain, reached the pinnacle so to speak, and we know what that tastes like. It's kind of like anything less is just that."

Over the last 5 years, the regular season has evolved from an inconquerable beast to a 162-game prelude to the real challenge. That, more than anything, is the accomplishment this Phillies team has achieved. In December 2009, after two straight NL titles and one World Series victory, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. swung a trade for a man who would accelerate that metamorphosis the way few players can. Yesterday, Roy Halladay took the mound in the first inning and refused to leave for the rest of the way, pitching out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the second inning and then settling in for his first shutout of the season.

The Phillies, who entered the game with their first three-game losing streak since June 4, needed every inning that their ace could offer. After Shane Victorino led off the game with a double and Placido Polanco drove him in with a single, they managed just three more baserunners against young righty Bud Norris and the Houston bullpen. All three of those runners came in the sixth, when Norris struck out Howard and got Raul Ibanez to fly out to escape a one-out, bases-loaded situation.

Thanks to the dominance of Halladay, any extra scoring would have proven gratuitous. The veteran righthander, who arrived in Philadelphia having failed to make it to the postseason in his first 11 full seasons in the majors, guaranteed himself a second straight October by holding the Astros to six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in nine innings. He also furthered his case for a second straight NL Cy Young, improving to 18-5 with a 2.34 ERA while logging the eighth complete game of the season and 66th of his career.

"Coming over here, that's the reason you are here," said Halladay, who also earned his 20th career shutout. "To know we are going, obviously there is some work we are trying to get done, but knowing that we are going to the playoffs is always a thrill. That is the ultimate reason you are playing the game. So, yeah, I'm excited about it. I think the important thing is to finish what we have left and go from there."

What they have left are two goals. First, clinch the division, which they can do with any combination of four wins or Braves losses over their final 16 games. Second, clinch homefield advantage. The champagne will remain on ice, at least until the Phillies clinch the NL East. Still, that doesn't preclude us from marveling at what they have accomplished already. The previous franchise record for earliest playoff clinch was Game 147 in 1915. At 95-51, they topped that. They are also likely to shatter the franchise record for fewest runs allowed in a 162-game season, which was set at 557 by the 1976 team. They finished yesterday with 474.

The reason is not just Halladay, but pitchers like Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Madson, Antonio Bastardo and Vance Worley. All of them have tasted the playoffs before, which cannot be said of this year's trade-deadline acquisition.

Hunter Pence, who yesterday earned his first postseason berth in the stadium where he spent the first 4 1/2 years of his career, kept it short when asked to summarize his emotions.

"I'm excited," the rightfielder said. "I'm happy."

He is also a quick learner. Because for now, the Phillies see no reason to celebrate.